Golden Ticket Casino
Located just outside of the Hildago Empire’s territories in Iowa, the Golden Ticket Casino is something of a tourist resort in the middle of the wasteland. Operating as something akin to its pre-war counterparts, the Golden Ticket rakes in the caps from travelers with empty promises of riches. At present, it exists at the sufferance of the Empire, who have decided to preserve its independence at the price of a regular share of the take. History The Fairfield Center was constructed before the Great War as a corporate retreat and function center, with the intent of being the largest of its kind in the Great Plains Commonwealth. Its location was determined largely through a combination of corporate kickbacks and bribery of local officials, who saw an opportunity for personal enrichment. Opened in 2068, the plan was to host large-scale events, conventions, high-level corporate functions and so on. However, the combination of the collapsing wartime economy and a terrible location meant that the facility never attracted the traffic or high-quality events that it was designed for. Instead it mostly operated under capacity, playing home to whatever event the desperate owners could attract. On the morning of October 23rd, 2077, the center had just opened its doors for the 2077 Midwestern Dollhouse and Miniatures Convention (DollMinCon ’77). Surviving the war unscathed due to its location, it wound up becoming something of a refuge and shelter for those fleeing nearby communities. What started as a temporary camp became more and more permanent as many chose to stay there, accepting that the convention center would at least provide them with some shelter. However, radioactive fallout, diseases and the other ravages of the post-war world would take their toll on those present, thinning out the populace. And yet, those that survived adapted to suit the realities of post-war life. With no long-range communications, no central authority and even basic necessities like food and clean water becoming rare, trading became key to survival. What eventually emerged was something of a trading post and waystation to support the new world, taking advantage of what had previously been a terrible location that now offered a surprising amount of security. Travelers and traders moving between what had been Kansas and Iowa found the retreat to be an ideal stop-off along their routes, as well as a place to trade goods and supplies. Eventually a governing council emerged who ensured that the community would be run to serve its people. This situation would persist for over a century, despite the challenges that the Wasteland presented. Raiders and various dangerous mutated creatures would always present a hazard, as would the threats of radiation storms and other environmental threats. While it had come under attack on numerous occasions, its inhabitants had always been able to repel those threats. It was not until 2199 that the community would face the first real threat to its survival, which came from an unexpected quarter. In that year, the community’s leaders were approached by a self-styled entrepreneur calling himself ‘Bobby the Brain’. Acting through proxies and never appearing in person, Bobby offered them an opportunity to increase their revenue. His plan was to expand on their services and offer more ‘comforts’ to the traders and travelers passing through the outpost. In return, he would be given a place in the community’s governing council. After some debate, the council agreed to his plan, although dark rumors persisted of bribery or even out-and-out threats influencing their decisions. Soon, with the blessing and assistance of the community council, Bobby had opened a small gambling area inside one of the otherwise unused convention halls. Consisting of a bank of salvaged slot machines as well as a few card tables, the area quickly proved to be a success. Despite its small size, it attracted travelers and traders who were looking for some mild relief from the road, as well as the unlikely chance of winning it big or at least walking off with a few caps. This saw an increase in traffic, which combined with the council taking a share of the takings off the gambling, quickly won over Bobby’s critics. Confident in his success, Bobby then pushed to expand on his attractions, arguing that they would bring in even more caps to the community as a whole. Again his idea was supported, this time with somewhat less resistance from the council as they were already reaping the benefits. Bobby’s area, now titled a “VIP lounge” was again expanded, and almost immediately saw more traffic, and in turn bought more people and caps to the community. This move set the tone for Bobby’s engagement with the council and the community as a whole. He would continue to gently push ideas forward, arguing strongly for the benefits while demonstrating just how much he had already added to the community’s coffers. Soon the lounge had expanded considerably into a full-blow casino, with rows of slot machines, card tables, dice pit and so on. He then pushed to have a bar opened in the casino proper, but offered reassurances that it would be run by community members and not simply competing with the already existing bar in the trader’s domain. Then he further expanded on the bar with the addition of a lounge, and so on. These moves weren’t hurried, and instead were drawn out over the course of years as he was careful to let the populace adjust to the new status quo rather than pushing for massive change all at once. Only one of his moves met any resistance, and that was his efforts to allow the sale of recreational chems. While some members of the council, chiefly those concerned with the traders themselves, opposed it, the move still passed regardless. This was due to the other side of Bobby’s plan where, behind the scenes, he had been expanding his influence over the council. Bribes, blackmail, favors and kickbacks had put a number of them in his pocket, ensuring that he would have majority support regardless. Most of the populace were unable to argue with the results either, becoming somewhat accustomed to the money they were making off of their visitors. By 2210, Bobby was confident in his control over the council and the community as a whole. While still outwardly making all its decisions by consensus, Bobby now controlled enough of the vote, one way or another, to ensure that he could do whatever he wanted. In that year, the community was renamed to the ‘Golden Ticket Casino’ (pushing the slogan that it was a ‘golden ticket to wealth’), ensuring that the gambling business would be at the forefront of its economy. Those that opposed Bobby had found themselves marginalized and unable to compete with him in the council, even if they persisted in voting against him. Those that opposed Bobby simply assumed that he would eventually step down or die, and that when he did so he could be replaced. Instead, the opposite happened; Bobby managed to remain in power, while out-lasting and out-living everyone else around him. Each time it looked like a member of the council was moving to retire, Bobby carefully sought out and identified a potential replacement that he could control from behind the scenes. Through these methods, he effectively gained complete control of the community. He even ensured that there would be voices who would vote against him, even if only to preserve the illusion of democracy. The rise of the Hildago Empire in the 2230s gave Bobby some reason for concern. He rightfully feared that the expansionist force would seek to take control of the Golden Ticket and replace him with one of their own like they had with other communities. Not waning to lose what he had, while also not wanting to risk losing his own life, he began making a series of contingency plans against a possible attack. However, he also saw the benefits of the Empire’s rise; as people fled from its advance, they would come through Golden Ticket seeking shelter or a way to secure passage further south. And he would, in turn, squeeze as much as he could from their desperation. Instead, it would not be until the fiasco of Hildago’s expansionist push in the 2270s that the threat would eventuate. Seeing a lucrative target, Emperor Eduardo Hildago ordered forces to attack Golden Ticket with the intent to capture it and add it to the Empire. While forces were marshaled for the assault, the attack itself failed to materialize. As with so many other moves he made, Eduardo Hildago had overstretched his forces while they were still committed to other operations, including the ongoing meatgrinder that was the Des Moines offensive. Realizing the depth of his problems, and not wanting to compromise on his other campaigns, the Emperor ordered a scaling back of his attack while reassigning the bulk of the force elsewhere. Now they were concentrated on raiding trade caravans and cutting off Golden Ticket’s sources of income. Bobby began quickly feeling the pinch of these raids. Concerned for their safety, traders began staying way from the Casino, depriving Bobby of precious income. This in turn lead to growing discontent within the settlement itself, as the populace began to discover just how cripplingly overspecialized their economy had become and how much they were losing. Realizing that the situation was only going to get worse, Bobby looked around for a potential solution. As distasteful as it seemed to him, only a single good option presented itself. He called for a meeting with a representative from the Hildago Empire, offering a solution to the conflict between them. His idea was to offer the Empire a portion of the revenue that the settlement was taking from the Casino and its other business. In return, the Empire would not try to take the settlement, and leave Bobby to run it on his own. The upside to this would be that Hildago would be free to then redeploy his forces elsewhere, thus easing the pressure on his already overstretched armies. As Bobby had hoped, the Hildago commander sent a runner back to Cedar Rapids to convey his offer to the Emperor or somebody else who had the authority to make such a deal. When the reply arrived, it was almost all that Bobby could have wanted. The Empire was willing to agree to his terms, having apparently seen the reality of their military situation. However, there was one caveat that he had not expected. Rather than Bobby sending his tithe to the Empire, it would be collected by a representative who would be permanently living on-site. This individual would serve to ensure that the empire’s interests were being served through this deal. Or, in other words, they would be keeping an eye on Bobby in order to ensure that he didn’t try to short them or back out on his deal. Knowing that trying to argue the point would likely make the situation worse for him, Bobby reluctantly agreed to the Empire’s terms. The first ambassador arrived in June of 2275, taking up residence in a suite that Bobby had personally prepared for him. As expected, they maintained an obvious but otherwise light-handed presence within the Golden Ticket and its environs. While not interfering in the Golden Ticket’s operations or the way that it was run, they also ensured that they would be constantly visible while leaving no illusions as to who they were and why they were there. Ultimately, their presence was a thinly veiled threat to Bobby; play along and honor their arrangement or else risk destruction. Knowing that trying to argue the point would likely make the situation worse for him, Bobby reluctantly agreed to the Empire’s terms. The first ambassador arrived in June of 2275, taking up residence in a suite that Bobby had personally prepared for him. As expected, they maintained an obvious but otherwise light-handed presence within the Golden Ticket and its environs. While not interfering in the Golden Ticket’s operations or the way that it was run, they also ensured that they would be constantly visible while leaving no illusions as to who they were and why they were there. Ultimately, their presence was a thinly veiled threat to Bobby; play along and honor their arrangement or else risk destruction. Behind the scenes, of course, the Empire was keeping a firm hand on Bobby’s shoulder, making sure that he knew that his continued existence was at their sufferance. Not everyone was content with this outcome, of course. Bobby wanted to be free of the Empire’s influence, both in terms of the amount of caps he needed to hand over and the threat of what would happen if he chose to defy them. As the Empire rebuilt its army in the 2280s, the amount that Bobby was forced to hand over increased, as did the Empire’s presence within the settlement. Now it was home to a small security force, whose presence was supposedly there to simply protect the Empire’s representative. However, to Bobby it was clear what their actual role was. Bobby was fully aware that moving overtly against the Empire would be too great a risk, both to the settlement as a whole and him personally. Instead, he opted for subtlety, doing his best to win over the Hildago ambassador and present himself as being a friend and ally. All the while, Bobby was building a plan to remove the Hildago presence while ensuring that the Empire would not return, or, alternatively, come back in force to take Golden Ticket from him. By 2287 he felt that he was ready to go, but still needed to gather one key asset; somebody who would be loyal enough to him to follow his orders, capable enough to carry out his plans, daring enough to not fear interfering with the empire’s business and yet expendable enough so that should things go wrong, he could cut them loose without loss. Description As designed, the Fairfield Center was a functional convention space. Built of rendered concrete in a then-popular style, it boasted all the amenities that was expected to be needed to fulfill its function. The full capabilities were never tested due to its under-utilization, however, and would remain such for years to come. The re-purposing of the facility following the Great War saw very little change to its actual design. Lacking the facilities to make gross structural modifications (and the willingness to do such) the inhabitants simply left everything as was. The interior convention spaces were converted into makeshift housing and shelters, taking advantage of their considerable volume to house a not insubstantial populace. The exterior of the center was fortified with makeshift walls built from salvage (including derelict cars), while lookout posts were added to the roof in order to provide early warning against attack. Much of the exterior within the walls, chiefly the former car parks, were converted into stable space as well as a trader’s market. Tent covers provided some measure of shelter from the elements, giving the market a look and feel akin to an old-world bazaar. After Bobby the Brain’s takeover the interior of the facility was slowly converted over to his new needs. More and more of the interior space was given over to the casino, while the living quarters became more formally organised even as their floor space shrunk. The interior became ever-increasingly sub-divided into organised accommodation as Bobby did his best to monetize as any of the trading posts’ functions as possible. However, the exterior facilities like the market and stables remained unchanged, likely as a concession to Bobby’s opponents in the name of preserving an illusion of freedom. The Golden Ticket Casino itself is the hub of activity within the settlement. It now covers much of the interior space of what was once the Convention Center floor, and filling as much room as possible with various games and distractions. It offers a full range of gambling options; card tables, slot machines, dice pits and so on, giving an unsuspecting traveler any number of ways to feed their money into Bobby the Brain’s proverbial pockets. The facility is decked out with as much glitz and glamour as the post-war world allows, giving an illusion of old-world luxury that adds to its enticing appeal to visitors. The casino also boasts a fully fitted out bar and lounge, designed to keep visitors there and help buoy their mood so that they will keep spending their caps. Much of what is left is given over to accommodation for visitors. Re-purposed and divided up into hotel rooms, these accommodations are more luxurious and better appointed than the flophouses built outside the casino proper. Naturally, prices per night (or by the hour) are a lot more expensive, but the offer of comfort, not to mention the added security, is used as an enticement. Those that stay in the hotel rooms are also offered vouchers that can be redeemed for chips in the casino, further encouraging them to spend big. What was previously the convention center's offices and backstage areas have been converted into living quarters for the staff. While cramped, they are also as well appointed as circumstances allow, and are by no means uncomfortable. Despite his seemingly greedy nature, Bobby has ensured that his staff are well looked after, in order to keep them smiling and in turn, friendly enough towards their clientele. Even then, much of the living space is communal, with shared kitchen, lounge and other facilities. Finally, Bobby’s office sits at the top of the facility, in what was once a VIP booth. With its access heavily restricted, Bobby has all the privacy that he needs, while being able to look over and supervise his operations. Due to his nature, he has no real need of actual accommodation or other living facilities, meaning that he rarely needs to leave his office. Notable Inhabitants Bobby the Brain The rarely seen head of Golden Ticket, Bobby the Brain is a seemingly reclusive figure who largely acts through intermediaries. Many of those that live in the settlement have never seen him, but due to the wealth he has bought them, they also have very little reason to question his apparent eccentricity. Given that he has been a part of the settlement for nearly eighty years, most assume that he is just a long-lived Ghoul who choses not to interact out of some feeling of vanity. This illusion is aided by Bobby who has hired several Ghouls over the years to generally just stand around and preserve the illusion. The truth is somewhat more complicated. Before the Great War, Bobby Valet was a small-time con artist in Des Moines who ran scams based on his natural charisma and skill with numbers. He was caught out while trying to defraud pensioners, and sent to prison. Once inside, he became the victim of a typo on official records that saw him collected along with a group of death row inmates and sent off to a RobCo experimental facility. Already afraid for his life, Bobby was still unprepared for what happened to him next. Along with the other transfers, his brain was removed, his memory wiped and he was installed in a Robobrain body. In the chaos of the Great War, Bobby managed to escape the facility, vanishing into the flames of the old world’s funeral pyres. After some years of wandering without regular reconditioning, his original personality began to return, over-riding much of the Robobrain programming. As he became aware of his situation, that he was now an apparently immortal cyborg living in a post-nuclear wasteland, he began to look for ways to exploit this situation. The creation of the Golden Ticket casino, a place where he could live in comfort and wealth, was the accumulation of his goals. Bobby is amoral, selfish and greedy, caring only for himself and his comfort. He has no concerns about exploring others, and feels that anyone who falls for his scams deserves to be taken for a ride. Bobby cares little for the people that he rules over, and would be gladly willing to run of and leave them high and dry should circumstances turn against him. However, he still sees that as being a worst-case scenario, and would prefer to remain in control of an independent settlement. While he uses a stock Robobrain body, Bobby had his outer casing painted to resemble a tuxedo so that he would feel more like the high-rolling entrepreneur he wants to be. Connie McCormack Connie McCormack’s job hearkens back to the original days of the settlement, before its focus shifted to gambling and fleecing travelers. Her job is to look after incoming traders and caravans, making sure that they have a space to stop, that their Brahmin (or any other animals they may have with them) are sheltered, fed and looked after, that the traders themselves have a place to rest and so on. She leads a small staff who help her in this role, and who serve as the front lines of the Settlement’s connection to the outside world. Her position makes her one of the settlement’s governing council who run it and manage its affairs. She has made her opposition to the casino and all that comes with it clear, but she simply lacks the support or allies to do anything about it. She personally suspects that Bobby finds her useful simply because she creates the illusion of opposition to his rule, making him seem more benign and less dictatorial. None the less, Connie persists in her role, if only so that she can in turn do the best by the traders and caravans and make sure that they have options other than being taken for all their caps by the casino. Sharp eared and careful, Connie makes it a point to listen to the traders and hear what they have to say. This has enabled her to learn a lot about the state of the world outside of the settlement, as well as what is going on within it. Recently she has become aware of Bobby’s efforts to end the Hildago influence over the Golden Ticket, a plan that she discretely supports. As much as she dislikes Bobby, she also hates the Empire, and is under no illusions as to which is the greater evil. Even then, she has begun making her own moves to take advantage of these developments, and ensure that once he has driven out the Empire then Bobby himself will be the next to go. Azad Ishmael The Hildago Empire’s ‘ambassador’ to Golden Ticket, Azad Ishmael makes no illusions as to why he is here. A battle-scarred veteran of the 2270s campaigns, he makes it a point to be seen within the casino, ensuring that the Empire’s presence is known to all. He performs his duties with a functional regularity, being thorough in his accounting and ensuring that the Empire gets its due share of the takings. Or, at the very least, that is what he has been lead to believe, as a result of Bobby’s careful manipulations. Azad has grown accustomed to living in comfort in one of Golden Ticket’s suites, which was provided to him by Bobby as a sign of his commitment. He has even gone so far as to openly mock the conditions in which the average Hildago solder lives. Bobby has ensured that Azad has a constant supply of alcohol and chems, and ready access to the games on the casino floor. The result is that Azad has become rather distracted, and far less thorough in his activities. This has allowed Bobby to make his moves to get the Empire out of Golden Ticket once and for all while the man who is supposed to be watching him is instead indulging himself. Of course, Azad still has a squad of armed soldiers on-site at his disposal, and can potentially call up further reinforcements if needed. Consequently, Bobby’s moves so far have been careful and measured without being overt. Category:Places Category:Communities Category:Iowa